Help I have trouble eating under 2000 cals a day!
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This thread is ridiculous, full of good and BAD advice.
If someone wants to have a 900 calorie breakfast, and it fits in their calories, so what. I sometimes eat meals that are 1000 calories and other meals that are 200 calories. The total of calories in one meal means nothing if you meet your calorie goal. I could easily eat a 900 calories breakfast, a 500 calorie lunch and 600 calorie dinner and meet my daily goal.
OP, feel free to look at my diary. I eat between 2000 and 2300 calories a day, based on my TDEE and 30-60 minutes of cardio and lifting a day. I eat a combo of healthy and junk food. Usually, if I have one bad meal in a day, I just try to make sure the others are healthy and nutritious.
Why is it ridiculous?
She eats half her days food in one meal and then feels hungry for the rest of the day?
A logical idea would to be break the meals down into smaller chunks so not need any reason for binging.
Maybe thats just me.0 -
This thread is ridiculous, full of good and BAD advice.
If someone wants to have a 900 calorie breakfast, and it fits in their calories, so what. I sometimes eat meals that are 1000 calories and other meals that are 200 calories. The total of calories in one meal means nothing if you meet your calorie goal. I could easily eat a 900 calories breakfast, a 500 calorie lunch and 600 calorie dinner and meet my daily goal.
OP, feel free to look at my diary. I eat between 2000 and 2300 calories a day, based on my TDEE and 30-60 minutes of cardio and lifting a day. I eat a combo of healthy and junk food. Usually, if I have one bad meal in a day, I just try to make sure the others are healthy and nutritious.
Why is it ridiculous?
She eats half her days food in one meal and then feels hungry for the rest of the day?
A logical idea would to be break the meals down into smaller chunks so not need any reason for binging.
Maybe thats just me.
Ridiculous for some of the catty responses. And like I said, full of good and bad advice.0 -
i dont follow tdee i dont calculate the cals i lose from my job, one night i wore my hrm and it said i burned over 8,000 cals in a 10 hour shift... even if i cut that in half and say i burn 4000 plus the exercise i do, plus i walk from work most days which i also dont factor in.... the only days i see loss is when i eat under 2000 cals days like today when i ate 2300 i'll get on the scale and see nothing....
I know you two dont understand...
May I please have your height? Then I can tell you your TDEE and how much to eat from the calculator.
Forget the HRM, it's not for this purpose. You could consider a Fitbit though since you walk a lot at work. I have one.0 -
????? i need to go to bed because i cant keep responding to these post, you do realize that your post makes absolutely zero sense.. please re-read and repost.OP, essentially what I'm hearing is you want to keep doing exactly what you're doing, but lose weight. You want to do none of the work but get all the benefits. You've done nothing but try and justify what you are doing, and cut down anyone who dares to tell you that SHOCK HORROR, the reason you can't lose weight is because you're eating too much. Something has to give here, and the way I see it you have two choices. You can either keep eating 'normal' and stay fat, or you can start to realise that how you are eating is nowhere, NOWERE near normal. Once you do that, and actually start to take on board some of the very good advice you've been given, you might be in a position to change your definition of normal, change your eating habits, and lose weight.
OP, Then STOP posting. What was said here makes perfect sense. You are eating too much, as everyone has said to you in one way or another. I personally have come to the realization that I have a binge eating disorder. I used to think that eating 6 cookies, and then a bowl of cereal, and then some french fries with ranch, and then later going to Arby's was ok but ITS NOT OK. No matter what your definition of "normal" is, the way you are currently eating is not ok, and that is why you are overweight. I am sure almost everyone who has posted here has had struggles with food at one point or another, you are not alone. Nothing will change for you until you are ready to be accountable for what you are doing to your body. If you are not ready to own up to the reality that everyone else here sees but you, then there is nothing anyone can say that will help you.
Best advice, calculate your TDEE and do as much research you can do to find out what works for you in YOUR journey. What works for someone else, may not work for you. And, if you really want to lose weight you have to get up and start exercising. While diet is the most important thing in your weight loss, exercising will only help you and it will do wonderful things for you mental health as well. Good luck to you, I really hope you eventually realize that people are trying to help you here.0 -
And protein.....protein with every meal/snack. I definitely notice when I don't get it.
This.0 -
Normal people are obese. You need to change what your view of normal is.
Fat Loss Chef0 -
You are what you eat.... "LMAOOOO" no sense in offering advice to someone who is not going to listen anyways.0
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I've come to the conclusion that OP is trolling all of you.
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I've come to the conclusion that OP is trolling all of you.
No I just think she is overwhelmed with all the responses and taking some time to digest it all.....hopefully.0 -
OP, it looks as if your understanding about what and how much a "normal" person eats is mistaken. Paging through your diary there's a mess of "quick add calories". That doesn't help you gauge how you need to tweak your diet. And - this may or may not apply to you - the couple of times I did that it was done because the sheer amount of food it entailed made me ashamed. It was my way of partly giving up for that day.
The days you did log your food were instructive. The majority of your food choices were fast food and junk food. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a purist. You aren't gonna find me in that crowd. I understand their approach and appreciate it, but it's not for me. You may need to start small. For one meal a day eat something you don't normally eat. Something "healthy". Oatmeal for breakfast for example. Couple packets of oatmeal (you don't seem to be much in love with cooking so packets will work). Add a bit of milk perhaps. Filling and contains some fiber. Do that for a week and see how you feel.0 -
This has been a funny read.
Good luck IWantToo. Remember: keep complaining, feeling sorry for yourself, eating tacos for breakfast and burning 8000 calories at work. The fat will just melt off.0 -
bump for later0
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Okay, so basically I need SOME ADVICE from people who have had trouble eating under 2000 cals a day...
I know all the simplistic answers make healthy choices, pack your lunch, stay away from junk etc... but i work long hours on my feet all day and at work i grab the nearest thing around, ive been good these last couple of days about not eating a crazy amount of cals but still i ate way over 1500 and felt like was darn starving myself.. how do you do it? Seriously my stomach grumbles and im having hunger pains.. i dont see how people sustain themselves off salad and a few chunks of chicken breast or fruit and water.. i feel like i ate nothing.. plus who wants to eat two hard boiled eggs for a meal wtf.. you know how it(2 boiled eggs) is on the menu in every restaurant:huh: :indifferent: ... i want to eat like normal.
like for breakfast i had 2 homemade soft tacos and a baked potato and it came out to @ 900 cals for two small tacos and a baked potato...
for lunch a homemade hamburger and fries almost 600 cals.. and it not like im using fatty meat... 90% lean ground beef is 200 for a quarter pound, bread is 100 cals, cheese 100, condiments about 50, potato and ketchup @ 150 cals...
you get my point... is anyone eating like a normal person and losing? I mean at work im gonna grab something convenient if i missed breakfast and am starving and the only thing in my vending machines are junk! chips and cupcakes etc... im not going to be hungry... this seems way more difficult than it should be.. Eat Less Cals, Exercise = Lose Weight.. but Doesnt seem like it works like that for me.. seems like im going to have to be in pain and starve and eat carrots and grass...
It's the little changes that count. Eat a taco, half a potato, and a piece of fruit for breakfast. Eat vegetables with your lunch instead of fries. Those suggestions alone could save you at least a couple hundred calories, maybe even 300-400. Try having small snacks in between meals so you don't get so hungry you want to eat everything ever when you finally get food. Bring your own snacks. Don't rely on vending machines, because the choices in those are never going to be healthy.
Most importantly, stop making excuses. If you want to eat a little more, work out to burn it off. It's going to take willpower, and you have to want it badly enough to power through.0 -
I didn't read through the rest of the thread but I struggle with this too, OP. I had to start working out to support my eating habit. Now I can eat 2200+ though I still feel hungry. Willpower is key, though sometimes I have none.0
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This was great advice mousepotato! I pack my lunch everyday too and use a lot of those same items you mentioned. The thing that I cannot find is a good protein packed trail mix. Do you make your own or is there a brand you recommend?0
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This has been a funny read.
Good luck IWantToo. Remember: keep complaining, feeling sorry for yourself, eating tacos for breakfast and burning 8000 calories at work. The fat will just melt off.
^^^ *kitten* ALERT!0 -
I feel your pain!! I struggle with trying to comsume between 1400-1500 calories a day. It has truly been a challenge and the only thing I have done that has helped me is to take what I would normally eat and figure out what piece of it I can change out. For instance, you mentioned a burger and fries...well if I went to McDonalds I would normally order the quarter pounder meal (fries and coke) which would come to 1,110 calories. When I get my McDonalds mood, I now order the double cheeseburger meal with medium fries and diet coke, that reduces my calorie intake to 760 that is a savings of 350 calories, which is huge when you are counting calories. That is my breakfast intake. Another good example of modifying the foods you like....I love bagels and cream cheese which would be 270 for a regular plain bagel with 70 calories for the regular cream cheese. I know buy the bagel thins 110 calories and the 1/3 less fat cream cheese at 45 calories. That is over 1/2 of the calories I am saving for later in the day. Hope this helps.0
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Please also consider your fiber intake. The more dietary fiber content the more filling it will feel for you. You will feel fuller longer.0
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I can't tell what you are eating, because you use quick calories a lot... but use what ever tracking method works best for you...
I know I keep my diary private, because I want to be scrupulously honest with myself and I'm afraid if others are commenting on what I eat I'll be tempted to put perceptions before honesty. And if I'm not honest with where I am I'll never get where I'm going.
Nutrient Dense foods keep you full longer, I found once I started eating more "nutrient dense" foods the less I focused on eating... oddly enough I enjoy food more now...
I won't waste calories on something I don't enjoy.
I haven't banished any snack foods or treats.
I just don't over indulge like I used to and enjoy it more because it is a "treat" and eat it less often.
While proteins and fats (happy fats... plant & fish based) appear to pack a lot of calories for the quantity you get to eat. A small amount will keep you satisfied longer. So it may be a better balance.
Remember BOTH sugar AND artificial sweeteners increase your appetite, I find cutting back on them makes weight loss easier, because I'm not hungry all the time. If I have a DIET COKE, no way I can keep at my calorie goal.
More foods now than ever before have hidden sugars in them and are sold as "real foods"
If I'm going to eat the sugar I want a cookie, gosh darn it!
Food manufacturers add a lot of sugar under a lot of different unrecognizable names into products, because it's cheap and it increases your appetite, so you eat/buy more.
(I picked up a lean cuisine one evening forgot to check the sugar went to enter it to find out it had 30g of sugar, now
A) I only get 25g a day,
my favorite cookies are 9g for 15 cookies. If I'm going to eat sugar I want to enjoy a treat!!!
Prepared pasta sauces often have a lot of sugar. The brand I'd been using had 9g for a 1/2 cup serving. So I switched to plain canned tomato sauce and added my own spices, my last trip to the grocer I notice the sugar went up from 1g to 3g. I check the ingredients and now find they've added corn syrup.(grrr!). Also watch out for yogurts they're usually very high in sugar, buy plain and add a little hershey syrup or jam or cukes & dill at least YOU will be controlling your intake.)0 -
I think the major problem for me was and it seems like maybe for you too is that you have to be able to get over the idea of "it's not fair." You're right, it's not fair that some people can eat whatever they want and still be skinny. I had this mentality for a long time... I don't eat as much as they do so why am I bigger than them? But the brutal truth that I have had to come to terms with is that it doesn't matter what other people do. You were just cursed with really having to pay attention to what you eat and sticking to healthier foods and smaller portion sizes than a lot of those around you. But as you can see from mfp, you're certainly not the only one who has to eat much less than those around them in order to lose weight. The sad reality of it is too, that even when you're in maintenace, you will likely have to eat a lot less and exercise a lot more than those around you. But take solace in the fact that you know that you are healthy and active and in shape and those skinny people who are putting down taco bell and double cheeseburgers for lunch are not.0
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The so called "diet experts" wildly disagree so I surely wouldn't claim to know all the answers. There's the Atkins fans who think carbs bad, protein and fat good. I agree it's a great way for a quick way to lose lots of weight but I've know two people who tried it, lost a boatload of weight, then gained it all back when they could not eat that way anymore AND their blood levels were terrible, especially cholesterol. Then there's South Beach. Good carbs vs bad carbs. Pink Method, severe calorie restriction and NO exercise for the 1st couple of weeks because you will be too weak to do much of anything.
I've seen the Weight Watchers method used successfully many times by friends and family. Like the commercial says "because it works". It's all about portion control and a balanced diet, plus exercise. A family friend lost 100 lbs just by walking every day. That's it. She started very overweight and her walk consisted of a walk up to the corner and back. Months later she was walking a few miles a day. My neighbor did the same thing. Started out at .25 miles and ended up at 6 miles per day. She is in her 80s.
My doc's advice is to cut out the processed foods, watch the carbs and sugar, And MOVE. As well as do the math-calories in, calories out. If someone is burning a ton of calories by working out every day for an hour, they can afford a lot more calories than someone who is not. 2000 calories might be great for some. It would NOT be good for my body. The OP sounds like they are overweight, consuming 2000 plus per day and wondering why they are always hungry. I'm at less than 1200, more if I work out but always at a deficit. Since starting this journey here 6 weeks ago, I've lost 11 lbs and at last count 6". I never feel deprived or struggle with hunger pangs. Not once. I am not in good enough shape yet to work out for an hour or more, although I hope to get there at some point. I'm not in a sprint to lose weight either. Slow and steady and lifelong hopefully. But I also do not eat junk food on a regular basis. No donuts, potato chips, fast food...and I am not into chemicals either. Not going to eat fake butter, fake ice cream, low fat this, sugar free that....I feel guilty about the Crystal Light mix I put in my water, but I don't go overboard on it.
Thing is? There is no good or bad advice in this thread. It's people telling other people what works for them, but it's not a one size fits all thing. Every body is different and will respond differently but seriously...the OP is overweight, does not mention any type of cardio or strength training and is consuming 2000 calories or more per day? The problem is obvious. Eat less, move more. The weight WILL come off. It has to.
And I am outta this thread because it IS getting catty.0 -
- don't eat any empty calories. You know what I mean.
- eat protein at every meal
- change your definition of normal
I don't know where you live or work, but what you describe is not "normal" where I come from - it's excessive and unhealthy. I am by no means a "health food" freak or a clean eater, either. Feel free to look at my diary, feel free to add me.0 -
This has been a funny read.
Good luck IWantToo. Remember: keep complaining, feeling sorry for yourself, eating tacos for breakfast and burning 8000 calories at work. The fat will just melt off.
^^^ *kitten* ALERT!
He's right. It's her attitude that needs to be adjusted. Until she stops the pity party, accepts that she won't reach her goals without making changes, is honest enough with herself to actually track what she eats, and is humble enough to admit that she's been making questionable choices, she will forever remain just as stuck and as frustrated as she is.
Go back to her initial post. Her question wasn't, "How can I prepare more filling, satisfying foods that fit within my calorie budget?" Nor was it, "How can I fight cravings and stop eating the unhealthy way that made me overweight in the first place?"
Nope. Her question was, "Who else eats like I do AND still loses weight, so I can do it, too." She wasn't asking for help in making changes. She was asking for reassurance that she can not make changes AND still lose weight.
Does not compute.0 -
Bump to read later.
(So far, I'm having trouble reconciling all of the details provided by OP...physically active job, 250ish pounds, but gains on anything over 2000 daily. Doesn't seem to be physically possible to me, but maybe more illuminating facts are buried in those 10+ pages.)0 -
Bump to read later.
(So far, I'm having trouble reconciling all of the details provided by OP...physically active job, 250ish pounds, but gains on anything over 2000 daily. Doesn't seem to be physically possible to me, but maybe more illuminating facts are buried in those 10+ pages.)
Not sure if my comment was address at all - the OP does not appear to log..that could have something to do with it.0 -
Bump to read later.
(So far, I'm having trouble reconciling all of the details provided by OP...physically active job, 250ish pounds, but gains on anything over 2000 daily. Doesn't seem to be physically possible to me, but maybe more illuminating facts are buried in those 10+ pages.)
Not sure if my comment was address at all - the OP does not appear to log..that could have something to do with it.
Oh. I must have missed that post.
If that's the case, then how does OP know she's staying at or around 2000 calories consistently?0 -
There is just no other way to say it, stay away from the deep fried and processed stuff. You can change what you see as 'normal', you just have to want to change it. You don't need to make homemade fatty foods, save that for your cheat days. You can make delicious meals for 300 cals and they feel like you're eating bad, trust me. Before you make a meal, google a healthy version of it. Cut back on the cheese, condiments, you don't have to eliminate them.
Bake your fries instead of deep frying them, they barely need any oil. There are short cuts to making meals healthier. If you really want to lose weight, you will do it. If you don't care enough, then it will be a long, disappointing ride.0 -
With exercise I maintain at 4000. Just sayin'. If you want to eat that much exercise more.0
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sometimes i can't keep it under 2000 cals too. Those days are usually days when i work long hours. It just helps to plan your day in advance, have food packed, etc. Buying crap at cafes is no bueno. I had a very unfilling single serve quiche for breakfast yesterday at a cafe...it ended up being almost 500 calories. WTF?!?!
Today I had a 160 calorie yogurt that kept me satiated untl noon.
It helps to be prepared.
ETA: also, protein is your friend.0 -
If you're working on your feet all day, you probably DO need to eat more. The biggest thing is to just prepare. Pack yourself a days worth of meals and snacks. That way when you get hungry at work, you have your own, better choices, rather than whatever is laying around or in the vending machines. It doesn't have to be salad and a few chunks of chicken. There are lots of healthy foods out there that are very filling.0
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